The Nuggets' big Game 2 adjustment? It could be more Bryn Forbes

SAN FRANCISCO — The Nuggets’ Sunday afternoon film session served as an opportunity for Michael Malone to remind his team that for much of Game 1, Denver hung with Golden State.

With 4:21 remaining in the first half of Game 1, the Nuggets led the Warriors 43-40. With 3:54 left in the third quarter, Denver trailed by only nine. Two big stretches — an 18-4 Warriors run to end the second quarter and a 14-3 run to close the third — helped Golden State take the series opener.

“That’s the kind of firepower that they have,” Malone said referencing those two runs.

It’s why my sense from speaking with Malone after practice on Sunday is that the Nuggets are more focused on cleaning up their own mistakes than making major lineup or rotation adjustments at this point in the series. The missed Nuggets box-outs that led to the Warriors’ 10 offensive rebounds and 21 second-chance points, or the 17 points Golden State scored off the Nuggets’ 11 turnovers, seem like where Malone is keeping his focus.

But Malone did hint at one lineup adjustment to watch for in Game 2. Don’t be surprised if Bryn Forbes sees his minutes increased and plays more with the Nuggets’ starters.

“I think Bryn Forbes could be impactful this series,” Malone said. “Kevon Looney guarded Nikola 1-on-1. Draymond guarded him 1-on-1, but when they’re double-teaming him, maybe I have to get Bryan Forbes in the game to be that guy who’s going to make them pay for doubling. And then maybe get a starter out early to bring him back with that second unit.”

Forbes logged only 14 minutes off the bench in Game 1, the second-fewest amount of the five players from the Nuggets’ second unit that played real rotation minutes. He scored five points and shot 1-2 from 3-point range. This season, he was the Nuggets’ third-most accurate 3-point shooter behind Zeke Nnaji, who’s currently out of the rotation, and Davon Reed, who’s ineligible for the playoffs on his two-way contract.

Here’s Forbes’ single made 3 from Game 1.

It’s an adjustment that would certainly get more shooting on the floor, which the Nuggets will need to win and extend this series. Denver shot only 11-35 from 3-point range and went just 9-31 on open and wide-open 3s in Game 1. That’s not going to cut it against a Warriors team with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, any of whom would unquestionable be the best shooter on the Nuggets’ roster. Having Forbes as an outlet for when the Warriors focus their attention on Jokic would lead to more high-quality 3-point looks.

“We got a lot of really good looks that we just didn’t knock down,” Malone said. “Too many possessions where we came down, pick-and-roll, jump shot. We want to move them side to side and want to get the best shot possible. We got caught in too many random offensive possessions where we did not make them work. We did not move them side-to-side.”

The flipside of more Forbes minutes is of course the ripple effects that would take place on the defensive end of the floor. He would automatically be a target that the Warriors would single out and try to exploit. Forbes is a gifted shooter, but he’s not a strong defender at all. The Warriors are an experienced team that would quickly alter their game plan to attack the Nuggets’ weakest link.

Forbes playing more minutes with the starters would also mean that someone has to log increased minutes with the second unit once he checks in earlier than normal to play with the starters. Barton seems like the most likely candidate. The Nuggets’ second-most used lineup from Game 1 featured Barton, Bones Hyland, Austin Rivers, JaMychal Green and DeMarcus Cousins and was a +3 in five minutes. It could replace Denver’s five-man second unit that was a -4 in four minutes.

We’ll see what Malone cooks up in Game 2.

“I think everything’s on the table,” he said. “We have to find a way to come out of here with a win tomorrow night to stay in this series.